Meet man, a DU graduate, who quit high-paying job to build Rs 23000 crore company from scratch

In a world filled with aspirations and dreams, there are very few who dare to take risks and challenge existing norms. Deep Kalra, the founder of India's online travel company MakeMyTrip, is one such personality. His journey from being born in Hyderabad to growing up in Delhi and Ahmedabad, and eventually establishing a holiday booking empire worth Rs 23,000 crore, is quite intriguing.

Deep Kalra started his higher education at St. Stephen's College, Delhi. After completing his graduation, he obtained an MBA degree from IIM Ahmedabad in 1992. Following this, he ventured into the corporate sector and worked for esteemed companies like ABN Amro Bank and GE Capital. His career flourished at GE Money. After working in the banking sector for three years, Deep decided to start his own company.

He saw that with the rapid expansion of the internet, the online travel booking sector was quite disorganized. Subsequently, he, along with Keyur Joshi, Rajesh Magow, and Sachin Bhatia, raised USD 2 million in funding from venture capitalists and started MakeMyTrip.

In 1995, Deep Kalra took a significant risk by leaving a good job at ABN Bank and joining the American company M.F. Bowling. This company set up bowling alleys and billiards halls. At that time, the company was hoping to enter the Indian market.

Deep Kalra invested everything he had in this venture and successfully opened more than 200 lanes, most of which were small centers. However, the downside was that this venture was not his own. His bosses in faraway America threw him into the market without proper mentorship and guidance. He soon realised that he was not making the best use of his talents and needed to do something else. That's when he started MakeMyTrip.